It’s Thursday, May 6th. I’m changing host and will have the site back up Friday, May 7th in the early afternoon

Mike

1. How often do you wash clothes?
2. How many sets of yard work clothes the do you need ?
3. Can you find what you want?
4. Are you saving, not wearing, and item as a memento?
5. Are you waiting for something to fit?
6. Do you find stuff you forgot you had?
7. Does it all fit in your one closet?

This post kicks off a series about how to simplify clothes. More to come…

MMc

Today I have been married for 22 years. My marriage is better than ever.

I like to think it is because of my greatness as a husband and a father. However, if you hang around and read my other post for very long you will find that I suck.

Grace and Forgiveness

First, I married up. My wife extends me a lot of grace and forgiveness. Probably too much grace and forgiveness. But, I’m lucky that way. If you ask her, she might say she learned it from me. That might be hoping for a little too much grace on my part. So probably not.

Learn from your mistakes

Second, I’m continually finding new “Stupid Husband Tricks” to preform. Life would be rather boring, if I kept doing the same thing over and over. Now Lisa might say that I do have some consistency. Like starting a project and not finishing – I’m good at that. Usually I strive for variety. Gone are the days of not taking out the trash or leaving the car on empty. Now I just walk through the house in muddy soccer cleats, or let the pool turn green.  I’m always on the lookout for new “tricks”. How about you? Are you stuck in a rut, or have you come up with some new ones lately?

Forget stuff

Lastly, I forget a lot of stuff. Bills, grocery lists, the occasional errand, birthdays, anniversaries (see number two for a refresher on this one), and to finish the last home improvement project.  You name it I have forgotten it.

Here are my three ideas on staying married for 22 years

Get over yourself and show a lot of grace and forgiveness

Try hard I mean really hard. Read books, go to seminars, read blogs, and ask questions. Learn and grow, we all make mistakes just don’t keeping the same one.

Forget about it. Focus on what brought you together and forget about what is driving you apart.

See Ya,
MMc

Meet me online…

• I drive a much cooler car.
• I work out regularly and have single digit body fat.
• I have a runway model wife.
• I’m independently wealthy

The list of my qualities and why you need to know me is endless.

Put on a happy face…

I have never understood the statement I know he’s a jerk at work.  But outside of here he’s really a nice guy. Or how about the girl who is the sweetest person on Sunday morning and the worst employer you could possibly work for on Monday. I’m sure you have a never ending supply of stories.

We have to take off our masks…

For a relationship to thrive and grow, whether family or friends, we have to peel back the layers.  You have to know me to help me, to hold me accountable,  to hold me up.

I cannot say it any better…

Corey Allan of Simple Marriage recently wrote Build a Better Marriage By Getting Buck Naked

So What!

You gotta look in the mirror, really look….
Be honest with yourself, your spouse, and your friend…
Learn, apply, grow….
Don’t go it alone…
Pick your friends wisely…

See Ya,
MMc

P.S. My online qualities were inspired by …

Brad Paisley “Online” I cannot “imbed” this video. You have to follow the link to YouTube.

“I’m telling you, Mike. He goes out of his way to be rude and mean to me.”

How so?

“Well, just yesterday he did _____. And the other day he tells me _____. He’s always talking behind my back….”

It was a pretty good rant and could have lasted awhile.

Some people are like Pigpen from Peanuts.  There is this cloud that follows them around.  If you get too close, you’ll get dusty.  If you let them in your house or car, you’ll get dusty.  If you let them in your life, you’ll get dusty.

Sam’s attitude, his rudeness, his meanness follows him around like a cloud of dust.  Anyone who gets too close is going to get caught up in the cloud.  Yet, you and I will convince ourselves that it is “all about me”.  It not about us. Sam couldn’t care less about us.  We just happen to get too close to the cloud.

Who is your Pigpen?

See Ya,
MMc

It is all too much: relationships, money, stuff, and the list goes on.  This is my attempt to share the information that I have found as I try to streamline my life.

Minimalism…

It is possible to have just enough:  just enough friends, just enough money, just enough stuff, and just enough faith.

The Journey

This is the beginning of the journey…

MMc

It is too much. I am here and only here. All my writing will be here.

See Ya,
MMc